1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a binding machine for journal notebooks.
2. Description of Prior Art and Related Information
In the scrapbook and arts-and-crafts industries, a great demand exists for do-it-yourself projects and the tools that enable such hobbyists to accomplish those projects. The growing trend is to enable do-it-yourselfers to make customized products at home that would otherwise be mass produced and available for sale only at commercial retail stores such as greeting cards and the like.
Certain projects, such as creating and customizing greeting cards, lend themselves more easily to the arts-and-crafts arena because few special tools are required. Other products, however, are very difficult to transition to the do-it-yourself industry because of certain machinery that may be required to manufacture the products or components thereof. Accordingly, many potential do-it-yourself projects are currently non-existent due to the absence of the appropriate tools to enable individuals to work in the comfort of their own homes.
This is true for making bound journal notebooks. While journal notebooks may come in a variety of different sizes and designs, they typically include a front cover, a back cover, and a plurality of pages in between, all of which are bound together by double wire binding ring combs or some other type of binder. And, though industrially manufactured journal notebooks are widely offered for sale through bookstores, gift shops and other commercial outlets, there is a need to make the craft of journal notebook assembling available to individuals. The popularity of journal notebooks as great gift ideas and the potential to individualize such notebooks to express one's own tastes and preferences make journal notebooks a terrific candidate for a do-it-yourself project which, until now, has not been made available.
Accordingly, a great demand exists for the appropriate tools to enable individuals to make his or her own homemade journal notebooks. However, many manufacturing challenges have prevented the transition of journal notebook making from the factory to the home. For example, journal notebooks require a plurality of holes that must be punched at precise locations on each page of a particular notebook. Without such consistency of the hole positions on every page, the pages will not be neatly aligned once bound. While single hole punches are known, such conventional tools are impractical both in the tediousness of the task, and the inability of such tools to provide consistent positioning of the individually punched holes on every page.
Furthermore, the covers of the journal notebooks tend to be composed of thick, heavy duty materials, such as chipboard, card stock and other such materials which would make the physical act of punching the holes through the covers a very challenging task with conventional tools.